Posted on 04/08/2005 1:35:14 PM PDT by The Right Stuff
The Death of Terri Schiavo
By Jennifer King
April 8, 2005
As Terri Schiavo gasped her way to the painful death ordered for her by a renegade judge, outrage about this blatant travesty of justice still lingers.
What seems indisputable is that Michael Schiavo was assuredly not looking out for his wife's best interests, or fulfilling a long ago made vow. Michael's actions throughout bespeak selfish cruelty with a streak of sadism mixed in.
Were Michael and Terri Schiavo happily married before her bizarre "collapse"? Family members insist that Terri was considering divorce, because Michael was controlling and authoritative, and he tried to separate her from her family and friends. This behavior is usually seen as a sign of potential spousal abuse. When Terri had her mysterious "collapse" on February 25th, 1990, it was after spending $80 at the hair stylist. Michael supposedly was furious.
The whole Schiavo case reeks of corruption and collusion - at the very least between Michael, his pro-euthanasia attorney Felos and "Judge" George Greer. The Empire Journal has reported extensively on the case and has discovered a trail of illegality, cronyism and barbaric disregard for the rights of a helpless, disabled woman.
Supposedly while at the emergency room after Terri's collapse, the Schindlers agreed to allow Michael to handle Terri's medical affairs on the advice of Michael's employer, Daniel Grieco. Grieco advised the Schindlers that this would expedite Terri's care, but he did not notify them that it would allow Michael the power to manage Terri's medical treatment and retain control of her medical records. Daniel Grieco later contributed $300 to "Judge" Greer's 2004 election campaign.
On June 18, 1990, a St. Petersberg courtroom appointed Michael Schiavo as Terri's legal guardian. Her parents are vehement in stating that they were not aware that Terri had been declared incompetent and that they never were notified of the petition to make Michael her guardian, despite being in almost daily contact with Michael and his lawyer, Mr. Grieco.
On March 5th, 1991, a bone scan was performed on Terri after she exhibited pain during physical therapy. The bone scan revealed that Terri had "a healed broken right femur bone and healed bone fractures on her ribs, pelvis, spine and both ankles." Dr. Walker, the radiologist, determined that she had a "history of trauma" to her body. He further asserted that, "a traumatic fracture is not active on the bone scan for 12-18 months", putting the time of the injury shortly before Terri suffered her collapse. The Schindlers were not made aware of this medical report until 2002.
In August of 1992, Terri was awarded $250,000 in a settlement against one of her doctors. In November of that year she was awarded $1.4 million in another settlement against another doctor. Michael Schiavo himself was awarded $600,000 for loss of consortium. $750,000 of the money was specifically earmarked towards Terri's rehabilitation.
Yet, late in 1992, Michael allegedly began withholding therapy from Terri. Starting in 1993, he prohibited swallowing tests or any swallowing therapy. He began to limit visits by her family and friends. He refused to allow people to take photographs or video of Terri. He refused to allow Terri to be taken outside of Woodside Hospice, where she was being held.
In 1993, the Schindlers petitioned to have Michael removed as guardian, claiming that he had been compromised by the monetary settlement and that he was no longer acting in Terri's best interest. Over the next ten years, they would unsuccessfully fight this battle. In the meantime, Michael seemingly continued his pattern of dominance and cruelty. He allegedly ordered caretakers not to clean Terri's teeth in 1995, in 2004 she had to have five of them removed. Terri's parents noticed that she was not being bathed properly and that her hair was sometimes dirty. Terri developed bedsores because she was not being moved properly. In 1993, when she developed potentially fatal infections, Michael ordered that she not be treated. Terri's room was kept dark, with the blinds drawn; and silent, with the radio and television off. There was to be no outside stimulation.
Other affidavits put forth by caregivers and medical personnel attested to numerous troubling facts. Many doctors did not think that Terri was in a "persistent vegetative state" and that she could probably be rehabilitated with therapy. Several nurses and other caregivers came forward to attest that Michael forbade all forms of therapy, including the placing of a washcloth in Terri's hands to prevent them from seizing up. One nurse testified that she gave Terri bits of Jello, "which she enjoyed immensely". That is, until Michael found out about it. Another attested that she heard Michael say things like, "Isn't that bi*ch dead yet?" and that he bragged about how he would splurge with the money once Terri died. None of this evidence was deemed important by "Judge" Greer.
In 1996, Michael found himself a new "wife", the daughter of a woman who worked at the county jail under Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice, a close crony of "Judge" Greer's. Rice also hired Michael to work as a nurse in the county jail. Michael and his "wife" now have two children, a nice home and two Mercedes sedans.
In the meantime, the legal battle and the indignities dragged on. In 1997, pro-euthanasia lawyer George Felos was hired and the infamous triumvirate was created. In 1998, Michael first petitioned to have Terri's feeding tube removed. At this time, a feeding tube was not considered to be "artificial life support" but the Florida Legislature remedied this the following year, when it changed the law. "Judge" Greer applied it retroactively to Terri.
There is ample evidence, discovered by the Empire Journal that "Judge" Greer is not even a legally seated judge, due to the fact that he never properly took or filed his oath of office. His name should have never been on the ballot. Additionally, once this discrepancy was discovered he should have been immediately removed from his post.
"Judge" Greer's rulings were so egregiously biased, they should have never been affirmed by the appellate court. Greer refused to recuse himself, despite numerous conflicts of interest like receiving campaign funds from virtually all of Michael Schiavo's lawyers. He also illegally discussed the case with Sheriff Rice and others outside the courtroom. Greer also steadfastly refused to remove Michael from his guardianship, despite his obvious and glaring conflicts of interest, his mismanagement of the funds earmarked for Terri's rehabilitation and his breaking of numerous guardian laws required by the state of Florida. Greer stubbornly disallowed all medical testimony that would conflict with the PVS designation and also refused to look into valid questions of abuse and neglect of a disabled person.
Heartbreakingly, Greer even refused Terri's parents petition that they might receive a lock of her hair and some of her ashes - after he had ruled that Michael might have her immediately cremated (destroying the evidence?) despite her parents wishes that she be buried.
For his sake, Michael remained true to form until the end. He kicked Terri's family and priest out of the room ten minutes before she died, and he allegedly wouldn't even allow Terri's mother to hug her daughter's body. Although under court order to do so, he has not indicated where he intends to bury Terri.
As for Felos, he held a bizarre press conference after Terri's death. Eyes shining with a salacious sheen, Felos described how Terri's death by starvation and dehydration was accompanied by soft music and flowers and how he had placed a stuffed toy in her arms. If Terri was truly PVS, why the bother? It's wrenching to know that such care was never given to Terri while she lived.
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.
All this evidence,yet the courts and Congress had NO authority? Who is fooling who?
At this point, I think we've all heard the accusations and theories. Michael and his supporters claim that his in-laws never hinted that they thought his marriage was a wreck, he a bad husband, or Terri's collapse his fault until money became involved. The Schindlers and their supporters claim that it's Michael who had a conversion along the way from a man who wanted his wife to be rehabilitated so he could get money for it to a man who remembered that she said she wouldn't want to live. We know all of this but cannot know with absolute certainty who is right and what exactly happened. At this point, these articles are just continuing to rehash and respin the same stories and theories.
This is all very sickening. The Schindler family was very gracious, even in the end, and have now put it in the hands of the Lord. "Vengeance is mine" sayth the Lord.
Unreal, just unreal. And some longtime FReepers support this "judge."
"Were (they) ... "bizarre" ... "was considering" ... "he tried" ... "usually seen" ... "potential" ... "mysterious" ... "supposedly".
Typical Terri article.
If you read the Empire Journal's columns on Judge Greer (very detailed), it is totally obvious that he should have been removed from the bench and his opinions voided. Why this did not happen (maybe Jeb could have done it) is astounding to me.
Fifteen years later....
I, like many other Freepers, have made our choice as to what is more important:
The Body, or the Mind, as the center of the spiritual essence of a human.
How you make that choice, is based upon many aspects of your personal life. That is a choice that only you can make.
I made my choice.
I'm not sure what you mean. How do articles that repeat the same theories and accusations help us choose if we believe that what was done to her went beyond removing life support and was wrong? The accusations about her husband harming her and then wanting her cremated to hide evidence versus the accusations that her parents liked him until well after she collapsed, which they would not have if they always believed he was at fault and a bad husband, don't help us decide what you term as "body or mind." My point wasn't about whether Terri should have been killed or not, it was about the accusations and theories.
Editorial after editorial in the MSM states Terri's collapse was a result of her bulimia, without any evidence. Yes, we know bulimia is a 'disease', like alcoholism is a disease, but not like cancer or diabetes is a disease. The former can be called self destructive behaviors. Calling Terri bulimic without explicitly laying out evidence and hyperlinks is like calling someone an alcoholic without evidence. This is slander and it irritates me every time I read it.
He had absolutely no grounds to be upset about $80 since she was gainfully employed and paid for it with her own money.
Where are the feminoids?
Sue and I moved from New Mexico into the frozen tundra of Minnesota in 1994. We did that for one, and only one reason: To take care of her father.
In 1994, her father had his first heart attack and quad bypass surgery was required. Sue is a RN, and fully understood what the future will hold for him.
What was clogging up his heart, would also clog up the rest of his body, to include his brain...
That year, I retired from the Army and we moved to Minnesota to be with her father. Personally, he was the father that I never had, and I adored that man more than anything!
When a person's brain fails, they regress in time.
What is happening today, is beyond their understanding, but they can remember details from 40 years ago, like it was yesterday.
The last day that her father and I spent together, he was living in WWII. Since I understood military history, I was able to continue the discussion, like I was there with him.
He arrived in France on the third day after D-Day, and was assigned to an anti-aircraft vehicle. I asked him if he ever shot down any airplanes, and this was the result:
He started to laugh and cry at the same time. "Yes, I did shoot down a fighter aircraft, but it was one of ours!"
The pilot was able to parachute to safety and was extremely pissed! The pilot was able to locate the unit and asked who had shot him down....
That pilot, once he located Barney, promptly punched him out!
Eventually, Barney participated in "Operation Market Garden", and was involved with all the horrors that resulted.
Barney also told me about a whore house in Amsterdam and a few other little details that only someone in the military would appreciate.
That was the last day that Barney and I ever talked with each other. After that, his brain regressed to before WWII.
Only two months later, he could no longer recognize his sons and daughters, and by the third month, did not know who his wife was.
Sue and her mother worked closely together and placed him into a nursing home.
By the third year, his teeth had rotted so much, that he was crying every day, in pain. However, if he had dental surgery to fix the problem, he would probably die. His wife refused to allow the surgery.
Eventually, he died. Sue and I felt relief, because he had peace once again. Watching someone die so slowly, is the most difficult thing you can ever witness.
This is a major aspect of my moral choice. I learned from personal history, what life was about.
Does anyone know if MS is still under 24/7 police protection?
My best guess at your point is that you agree with me and think that all of the accusations about what may or may not have happened between Terri and her husband do not help any of us in deciding the ultimate issue about life and death (you say that we must each make a moral choice.)
Many people mix the issues together and argue that life is precious and can never be tampered with but then also argue that there was contradictory evidence about Terri's wishes and Michael's movtives. If life can never be tampered with, then the motives don't actually matter. They matter only for those who believe that it is ok to withhold food and water if the patient wanted it that way.
Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that I have also seen up close. Although I'm still not sure how your story answered my question, my best to you and your wife in dealing with your loss.
Trying to figure out if the coast is clear, or something like that?
Is Daniel Greico his "employer" or his "lawyer"?
Is Daniel Greico his "employer" or his "lawyer"?
Once the brain is no longer there, the person has already died.
Sue and I learned this harsh lesson during the last three years of her father's life. He was no longer with us, and all we could do, was watch his body suffering.
Some Freepers have learned to hate me for my moral choice on this subject. Other Freepers have learned to respect it.
I learned about my morality choices the hard way. What you do, is between you and God.
Correct!
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